Walmart Cuts Starting Pay for Some New Hires

livemint.com:

Walmart is paying some new store workers less than it would have three months ago, a sign that employers are seeking to cut labor costs as the once-hot market for hourly staff cools. The country’s largest private employer changed its wage structure for hourly workers in mid-July, according to documents reviewed by The Wall Street Journal and store workers. Under the new structure most new hires will make the lowest possible hourly wage for that store.

In the past, some new hires, such as those who collect items for online orders, would have made slightly more than other new hires such as cashiers. Walmart’s minimum hourly wage of $14 remains unchanged and still varies by region, for example starting at $17 in some stores. Existing workers don’t receive pay cuts.

Walmart said the change in pay structure allows workers to move between work groups such as food, registers, stocking or digital fulfillment without pay impacts, according to documents given to some store workers. “This will allow for better staffing throughout the store," said one of the documents. Over 50,000 workers received raises because their pay was below the new minimums, the company said in the documents.

The change in pay structure allows workers to do different jobs across the store, learning new skills to move up in the company, a Walmart spokeswoman said Thursday. Walmart increased pay for its hourly staff, including lifting its minimum wage, over the last few years as the Covid-19 pandemic made competition fierce between employers for staff in grocery stores, healthcare and other professional settings. The company also shelled out pay increases and bonuses for roles such as truck drivers, areas where there has been a demand for more workers.